The Kenora part of lake of the woods is an awesome smallmouth bass fishery. Anglers that target them can catch a lot of bass. This area’s many bays, points and islands combined with all of the rocky bottoms will give anglers so many places to fish for smallmouth bass. Good numbers of 2 to 3 pounders are common and big bass in the 4 to 5 pound range are possible.
Fishing Kenora in the Spring
| Month | Avg. Temps °F (Hi/Lo) |
| March | 31° / 8° |
| April | 48° / 26° |
| May | 63° / 40° |
In the spring, Lake of the Woods is home to some fantastic smallmouth bass fishing once the water warms up towards the end of May. During the pre-spawn, target the rocky points and shorelines that lead into the bays. Once the spawn is occurring, you can fish the shorelines throughout many of the bays and catch very good numbers of smallmouth bass with quality fish mixed in too.
Fishing Kenora in the Summer
| Month | Avg. Temps °F (Hi/Lo) |
| June | 72° / 49° |
| July | 78° / 56° |
| August | 74° / 53° |
In the summer, there are good numbers of smallmouth bass that can be caught along the rocky shorelines and off the rocky points throughout the lake. While good numbers of smallmouth bass will go deeper in the summer, there are still a lot of smallmouth bass that can be caught in shallower water along the shorelines around rocks, wood and docks. The main lake structure will usually hold better numbers of quality smallmouth bass once mid-summer rolls around.
Fishing Kenora in the Fall
| Month | Avg. Temps °F (Hi/Lo) |
| September | 62° / 43° |
| October | 49° / 34° |
| November | 30° / 17° |
In the fall, anglers can catch a lot of smallmouth bass in shallow and deep water, so you may want to spend some time searching for smallmouth bass around rocky points and islands that lead into deeper water. Main lake structure is always a good spot to look for schools of smallmouth bass in the fall, especially when water temperatures start to drop towards the end of September and into the later parts of fall.
More Fishing Tips
Catch Lots of Smallmouth Bass
The Kenora area an awesome part of Lake of the Woods for smallmouth bass. You have rocks everywhere, so many islands, points and offshore reefs that all will hold bass throughout the fishing season. You can catch good numbers of smallmouth bass close to town and if you take a 20 minute boat ride, you can find some spots all to yourself where the fishing can be even better.
Catch Big Smallmouth Bass
This is definitely a numbers destination for smallmouth bass, but there are plenty of big bass here too. If you put in the time and upsize some of your baits, you will catch some bass in the 3 to 4 pound range and bigger fish are possible too.
Fishing the Bays
There are so many bays to fish. While the bays won’t always be the better bite, there will be plenty of smallmouth bass you can target in the bays especially in the spring time. The bays that have more rocks will be more productive than the ones that have more weeds.
Fishing the Drop-offs
There are so many good drop-offs along the shorelines, points and islands that you have so much water to fish if you want to fish drop-offs. From summer through fall, these spots will hold a lot of smallmouth bass. Find the spots that drop off fairly quickly from 4 to 6 feet of water down to 15 to 20 feet of water and if you have some rocks there, you have a pretty good chance to find some smallmouth bass here too.
Fishing the Flats
Some of the flats in the bays will hold a lot of smallmouth bass in the spring as water temperatures warm. For the most part, the flats aren’t going to be where the better bite is, however, there are plenty of areas that offer some pretty good fishing without much structure.
Fishing the Points
You have so many points to fish that you could literally just fish this pattern and you would never run out of spots to fish on any given day. Target the points off the islands or off the main land and you will find smallmouth bass. The rocky points are definitely more productive for smallmouth bass and if you can find a nice drop-off as well, you’re more likely to find some better fishing.
Fishing the Islands
There are so many islands that this is another pattern you could fish and never run out of new spots to fish. Most of the islands will have plenty of rocks and they will hold smallmouth bass. The islands with some nicer drop-offs will almost always be the better islands for finding quality fish.
Fishing the Reefs
The reefs are a great summer through fall pattern and there are plenty of reefs to fish in the Kenora area. Many of these spots will also have walleye on them as well, so don’t be shocked if you’re catching smallmouth bass and walleye here.
Fishing the Rocks
There are rocks everywhere and smallmouth bass love the rocks. You won’t have a hard time finding the rocks. You will have a hard time figuring out which area to start fishing on your first visit here. It all looks good and most of it will hold smallmouth bass. Target smallmouth bass on the points, islands, along the shorelines and on main lake structure as well. You will find rocks everywhere.
Fishing the Weeds
The weeds are definitely not the best pattern for smallmouth bass here, however, if you are fishing the weeds, don’t be shocked if you run into some smallmouth bass here too. It’s a secondary pattern for most anglers though for sure and most anglers won’t target the weeds at all when fishing for smallmouth bass here.